


A Curious Yarn

by mondays_child



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Crochet, Fluff, Gen, Headcanon, Knitting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-18
Updated: 2013-03-18
Packaged: 2017-12-05 16:22:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/725338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mondays_child/pseuds/mondays_child
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Tony notices a sudden wealth of hand-made items in the Tower.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Curious Yarn

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Control](https://archiveofourown.org/works/418437) by [snack_size](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snack_size/pseuds/snack_size). 



It started out with a scarf.  
Tony had noticed the royal purple scarf lying on the back of the couch one day. To be fair, probably the only reason he had noticed it was because he was looking for something to cover the acid burn in the carpet. After a quick check with JARVIS had determined that, Yes, it was August, and No Sir, it was unlikely that anyone would require a thick wool scarf in this weather, Tony had appropriated the scarf.  
Only two hours later, after the scarf had failed in hiding the most recent science-related damage from Pepper's canny eyes, did it occur to Tony to wonder where the scarf had come from.  
After that, Tony started noticing other hand-knit items in the common areas of the Tower. So far he had seen; four scarves of various colors, two pairs of weird slipper sock things, three hats (One had a pom-pom on it. A pom pom!), and suddenly the kitchen always had a fresh supply of patterned yarn squares that Steve had told him were for scrubbing dishes.  
The last straw was the four-inch-tall Hulk doll he found on the coffee table.  
"JARVIS!"  
"Yes sir?"  
"I need you to pull up the security tape of the living room."  
"I am sorry sir, however, Ms. Potts has disabled the security cameras for the living areas of the Tower."  
"What? When did she do that?"  
"It was after the Christmas party, sir."  
Tony chuckled, "Yeah, okay. I can understand that. Still, we got twenty million views of that video."  
Bruce wandered in to the living room carrying a steaming mug and a stack of scientific journals. "Please tell me that video isn't going around the internet again. I never wanted to be made into a gif."  
Tony barked a laugh, "No, I was asking for the security footage of the living room."  
"What's broken?" Bruce asked absently as he sat down and started sorting through his reading material.  
"Nothing, I'm trying to figure out where your mini-me came from."  
"What?" Bruce's puzzled expression widened into shock and a little bit of amusement as Tony waggled the tiny doll he was still holding. "That's certainly... huh."  
"Hey! You found Tiny Hulk!" Clint exclaimed as he and Steve walked in to the living room.  
"You know where this came from?" Tony asked.  
"Of course I do, he's mine," Clint answered, grinning widely.  
The three other men in the room looked at Clint with expressions of confusion, or in Bruce's case, mild bewilderment.  
"He's yours? Why do you have a Hulk doll, Clint? And where did it come from? Where did any of the yarn things come from? Do you knit?"  
"Of course I don't. Nat does."  
In the dead silence that followed, Natasha walked in to the room, carrying a large canvas bag that Tony could see was filled with balls of yarn.  
"That's ridiculous Clint, don't tell lies about me." Nat's face was serious, and her tone was flat.  
"But you do! You made me that scarf that Tony ruined," Clint protested.  
"Yes, he did ruin it, didn't he?" Nat's voice turned cold as she sat in the wide armchair and leveled a glare at Tony.  
"I did not ruin it! I merely scorched it slightly with an acidic solution that..." Tony trailed off under the force of two disapproving glares (Steve and Natasha), one exasperated glare (Bruce), and one snicker (Clint). "And anyways! You're carrying yarn! You can't deny that you made all those things!"  
"I'm not denying it." Natasha had a half smile on her face, as she pulled out a ball of black yarn and started digging into the center of it. After a few moments, she pulled out the end of the yarn and started tugging several loops out. She then set the ball aside and pulled out a tan ball and started the same process.  
"But. What?" Steve said into the baffled silence.  
"I don't knit," she said. "I crochet." She pulled out a crochet hook from a side pocket in her bag and started working on the tan yarn.  
"What's the difference?" Clint asked, slightly put out. "They're both making stuff with yarn."  
"Yes, and using a gun and a bow gives you a similar result too, and yet, they're completely different." Clint spluttered as Tony barked a laugh.  
"Okay, but why do you crochet?" Tony asked.  
Natasha rested her work in her lap as she looked at her audience. "For many reasons. Because in an undercover situation, it's always useful to have something that makes you look busy. People are more likely to ignore you if you look like you are concentrating on something, and I can listen and watch while crocheting. Also, because it is useful to have bits of metal around that don't look like weapons, and knitting needles are more likely to be confiscated because they look more dangerous. And finally, because it is relaxing." She went back to her project while the four men thought about what she had said.  
"Okay, that makes sense, I guess," Tony finally admitted while the other men nodded. "One last question." Natasha looked up at him.  
"Can I have an Iron Man doll?"  
Natasha smiled her small smile and held up the small tan shape she was making. "After I'm done making the Hawkeye doll."

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a line in Control by snack_size, which is spectacular, btw. Go read it! Thank you snack_size for letting me post my silly little story with a link to yours!
> 
> This is my newest headcanon for Natasha. Also, if you're wondering why Clint wanted the tiny Hulk doll, well, wouldn't you?


End file.
